All the Best
by cursivenight
Summary: It's Lily Evans' wedding day. She should be happy, right? She shouldn't be thinking about the fact her sister hates her, or missing her parents. But she is. L/J fluff.


**Disclaimer:** I just _wish_ I owned Harry Potter. Or could write something even half as awesome.

**All the Best**

Petunia didn't show.

It wasn't that I was terribly surprised, really. We hadn't been close since I was eleven, and we had barely spoken since I was fourteen. Our only contact had been during Christmas, Easter, and summer holidays - even then, we barely spoke or spent time together. After the funeral for our parents, we hadn't communicated at all. Except for an exchange of wedding invitations in the same year.

Well, I had sent Petunia an invitation, anyways. She had really only sent me a notification - it wasn't sent until the day after the wedding. It simply read 'Petunia Evans and Vernon Dursley are to be married!' in fancy lettering. The time and location spaces were left blank. When I received the piece of paper I was a little flummoxed. I knew Petunia had been dating a boy named Vernon for a few months (or was it a year or even more than that?), but I had never met him. While Petunia had always wanted to be married and do the housewife thing, I was surprised she was doing it so soon. Unfortunately, the lack of a proper invitation was not so shocking.

With our parents dead for only two years, you would think that we sisters would stick together, grow closer, forget our differences. It wasn't so for Petunia and I. Going through our childhood home was a nightmare; it had taken me a full day to realize that any use of magic was going to send my lovely sister into a screaming fit of rage or, if not that, then at least it would make her abruptly leave the room or give me the cold shoulder. If it wasn't for a well written will (my mother and father must've known Petunia and I would only fight over everything), we probably would have killed each other. It still took us three days to allocate all of the belongings in the house as going to Petunia, me, charity, or the trash. I was in tears frequently. Nothing like knowing your sister hates and resents you to help aid in recovering from your mother and father's death.

The funeral had been even worse. I had shown up with my boyfriend, James Potter, and several of my friends - all witches and wizards of course. I had never seen Petunia so upset - she called me a freak in front of everyone, and once I had chased after she said she never wanted to see me again in her lifetime, since clearly I had decided being a freak was more important to me than family.

"I can't believe you brought those people here! How could you do that to me?" Petunia had screeched at me.

Needless to say, my gesture of inviting her to my own wedding was not expected to yield results. That didn't mean it didn't sting to not receive and RSVP, or to have my tiny wisp of hope that she would just show up to my wedding be crushed. She was still my sister.

I stood with tears in my eyes, peering out from a barely opened door at the back of the church. None of my family was here to see me get married. My parents and grandparents were dead, both my parents were only children, and my sister refusing to see me. Even some of my closest friends were missing - unable to attend because of safety reasons (there was a war going on, after all) or because they were dead. My heart ached for all those that had been lost. I wished things were different. Even if it were only just different between my sister and I. It was one thing to lose someone you loved, but it was quite another to have someone you loved hate everything about you.

I closed the door and padded softly away from it, and sat down in a rather hard, uncomfortable chair. I was in my dressing room, alone. There was only a little time before I would be standing at the front of the church (though I saw it more as an ancient building with charm, history, and beauty) exchanging vows with James Potter.

Despite myself, I smiled. James was definitely my one shining light in this world of seemingly endless darkness and confusion. I could not imagine my life without him, though only a few years ago I had wanted to be rid of him as soon as possible. Maybe that's what kept me hoping for Petunia and I to become real sisters again, the fact that I was now marrying the boy whom I had practically hated for at least five years out of nine of knowing him.

I sighed out loud, rubbing my forehead with my hands. I hoped Petunia and Vernon were as happy and in love as James and I were. I personally couldn't imagine a man that Petunia would deem acceptable. That I would like, anyways.

There was a knock on the door, and I quickly stood up, smoothing out the slight ruffles of my white wedding dress. I subconsciously tucked a lock of hair behind my ear and glanced quickly in the mirror to make sure I didn't look upset. I forced a smile, but ended up just grimacing at myself.

"Come in!" I called, once I was done making faces at myself in the mirror.

The door creaked open, and James stuck his head in, eyes closed.

"James!" I hissed, scandalized. "You're not supposed to see me before I walk down the aisle!"

"My eyes are closed." He pointed out. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Now get out of here before I hex you. I don't care if your eyes are closed or not."

Instead of leaving like I had commanded, he came all the way inside, shutting the solid oak door firmly behind him. He muttered a few spells to lock and soundproof the room before he turned around, eyes open, taking me in.

"You're beautiful." He breathed softly, his hazel eyes examining me from top to bottom. He stepped nearer and reached out a hand to touch my arm. I stepped back, out of reach, and glared.

"You know we're never going to have a normal marriage now. You've cursed us." I accused, crossing my arms across my chest. I was in fact glad he was here to distract me from my musings, though I figured I better act annoyed.

James just laughed at me, running his hand through his hair in that way of his that inflamed me - once out of annoyance but now out of attraction.

"Since when have we ever had a normal relationship? Or even been considered normal?" He teased, chuckling. It should have made me laugh too, but I managed only a small smile before I turned away, suddenly upset.

"Lily?" James asked, suddenly concerned. He stepped toward me and put his arm around me. I leaned into it gratefully.

"It's just..." I started, then trailed off. How was I to explain exactly what was going through my head? How do you explain to the man that you're marrying in less than an hour that you're unhappy on your wedding day?

"You're not thinking of running out at the altar, are you?" James asked sounding concerned, though I knew he wasn't really worried.

"Well...I've been having second thoughts." I replied, very quietly. I heard his sharp intake of breath and then nearly laughed out loud as he whipped me around suddenly. He looked me straight in the eye, and then released his tense grip on me.

"Merlin, Lily." He said and stuck his tongue out at me as I giggled helplessly. He was so easy to antagonize.

Once I had sobered up a bit, I sighed, and looked up at James. He smiled at me reassuringly, and took my hands into his own.

"Look, Lily, I know you wish your family was here to see you, and support you, and I know you miss them. I wish my parents were here too." He began, then paused as he swallowed painfully, his mind stuck on the very recent loss of his own parents. I gripped his hands tightly, a little in shock that he knew exactly what I had been thinking about.

"But we have to remember that they are here Lily. Not in person, no, but they're still here." James spoke emphatically, looking around the room. "Maybe they're watching over us, maybe not. But no matter what, they are in our hearts. They would all be so proud of us."

James' thumb touched my cheek and wiped away a tear that was trickling down my face. I stepped closer to him and we enveloped each other into a tight embrace, holding each other through our pain.

"I just wish Petunia had come." I whispered into James' shoulder. "She's all I have left."

Pulling away slightly, James looked at me for a second. He chewed his lip for a second then sighed.

"It's her loss Lily. You invited her. She just can't deal with the fact you're so different - and might I add, better - than she is. It's her decision. There's nothing you can do. But I know, deep down, she does love you, even if she doesn't want to, or doesn't think she does."

I smiled up at him, in wonder of the man I was going to marry.

"Being magical is a part of you. You can't change it. You can't change the fact that Petunia resents you for it. She couldn't deal with it all those years ago, and you can't change that now." James continued, being surprisingly insightful.

"I think you're channeling Remus. Or maybe even Dumbledore." I teased, hugging him again to let him know what he said was helping, at least a little.

"_Pft_. Maybe I'm just an amazing, insightful, awesome man that you are marrying today." James replied, standing up straighter and puffing out his chest. I giggled slightly and smacked him on the arm. He winced and I rolled my eyes.

"You're right though. It's her choice. I can't go back. I can't change who I am. I don't want to, even." I finally replied, looking down at my hands. Looking up again, I continued speaking, "We can't get dragged down by the past or what we've lost, or we'll never enjoy what we have today. I'm so lucky to have you, James. I love you."

"I love you too." James murmured as he leaned down to kiss me. I shoved him away suddenly, and turned my back on him.

"You need to get of here. According to the clock on that wall, I'm getting married to you in exactly fifteen minutes. I'm betting you have at least three people searching everywhere for you. And knowing you, you probably put a silencing charm on the door so we can't hear the pounding on the door."

"Yes, Ma'am." James intoned as he saluted and smirked at me, and turned on his heel to leave. I ducked behind the dressing screen to hide incase any of our guests were the extremely superstitious or traditional type (which none of them were) and opposed James seeing me before I walked down the aisle.

I heard James slip through the door, and let myself sigh. I slowly emerged from my hiding place, checking over my dress and hair as I stepped. I stopped before the giant mirror and smiled at myself. I heard the door open again and heard a rather frantic voice soften with relief and exclaim over James' apparent disappearance and my lack of response at various knocks at the door.

I took deep breaths as I left my dressing room and positioned myself just outside the doors to the main area of the church. I heard the piano begin to play James and my favourite song, and I smiled to myself softly. I stepped slowly towards the doors, and waited for them to be pushed open. Once they were, I saw inside a small gathering of the most important people in my life. I was suddenly near tears.

It was the people here that were my family. Sure, we weren't blood related, but each of these men and women had been there for me at a time of need, and would continue to support me. And of course there was James. With him I was happy, and I would be happy with him for the rest of my life. That was really all I needed.

I smiled, and strode confidently down the small aisle, unable to stop a small trickle of tears fall down my face. As James grabbed my hand to help me step up the two stairs to the altar, I suddenly felt that he had been right - my parents (and his, and everyone else we had lost) were with us - not just on this happy occasion, but always. I started crying harder, and as I looked around at the people gathered, all smiling happily, I felt nothing but gratefulness for having wonderful memories of my parents, and for knowing the wonderful people I did.

James and I locked eyes and began speaking words that would bind us legally, I could only hope that any children we might have will be as lucky as we are in the people we know, and that James and I would be as good of parents as our own had been.

Suddenly our vows were over, and our official 'forever' was sealed with a very passionate kiss - my idea, to the surprise of James. As we pulled away from each other, I thought about Petunia, and though she couldn't hear me, I wished her all the best.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:<strong> I was feel terribly depressed when I think what promise/hope James and Lily had, and how it was taken away so quickly. I always think of Lily thinking of what she would want for her future children, and get so sad when I think of what happened to Harry (in his childhood/adolescent years, anyways). Not to mention how Peter betrayed them and what happened to all the Order members (dead, tortured, alone, etc). Anyways, I'll stop now.

**ETA:** So I got into Pottermore early and it turns out Petunia never did go to Lily's wedding, and Lily wasn't a bridesmaid or anything in Petunia's (she may have not even attended). So I'm almost canon! Who knew?


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